Back to Wildwood.

A few more summer pictures from way back in July. But this was one of our favorite summer memories and we took a billion pictures, so we had to share them. Last summer we were introduced to Wildwood at our cousin Norah's blessing. But we were all wearing church clothes and couldn't really partake of all the wonders to enjoy there. So we always dreamed of going back.
Well, while my sister Sarah, her husband Nathan and Norah were here this summer enroute from Manhattan to their new home in California, they invited us to spend the afternoon at Wildwood with them! Wildwood is a fabulous old cabin up Provo Canyon on a fork of the Provo River. (Just down the river a bit from Sundance Resort.) While this place is not as glamorous as Sundance, it has more personality and rustic charm. The cabin was built by Nathan's grandparents, the Paxmans, in the 1960s, right next to the 1920's cabin that Shirley Paxman lived at every summer growing up. The Paxmans have a cool old home in downtown Provo, but spend their entire summer up here every year.

The boys looking down from the tree house.

The cabin itself has a back deck that is literally on the river. The water was high and moving fast because of all the rain earlier in the summer, but the Paxmans have dammed-off a portion to create a shallow pool for the kids to play in. There is also a rope bridge to cross to the other side.

There are also lots of wood scraps, hammers and nails for building all kinds of creations.

And good places for taking naps.

It is the perfect getaway from the heat of July - and only 20 minutes from our house. The canyon is so much cooler and the breeze off the river is heavenly.

After Norah woke from her own nap, she joined us.
I love this picture with her great-grandparents in the background.
They are pretty amazing for a couple in their nineties!

We had a splendid afternoon.

And then it was time to say good-bye.

And not just to Wildwood, but to the Bowens as they headed off for their new adventures in California. We miss having the great excuse to visit Manhattan (and place to stay!) but it's nice to have them that much closer and look forward to seeing them more often. Like this past week. :)

Other Summer Pictures

Now that Labor Day weekend is here, it's hard to believe that summer is officially over! It was a busy summer and we really made the most of it - and even still didn't get to everything or everyone on our list. Such is life, I suppose. At times I felt so exhausted I didn't know how I would survive. And other times I didn't want it to end. Ah the complexities of summer.
So here are a few more of our outings. All deserve a post of their own, but since it's not going to happen, we'll just mention everything all at once. This was quick (and short - it was HOT) trip to Wheeler Farm while Sarah was in town.A summer trip to Gardner Village. Sadly, we didn't make it to This is the Place State Park this year. So we planned a quick trip to Gardner village to make up for it.
Another quick feild trip with the kids was to the Church Art and History Museum in downtown Salt Lake. Once again I got a lot of grief in the car on the way there about not wanting to go and once again (just like our trip to the Conference Center) the kids had a great time. [Will they ever learn to trust me? I suspect not.] There was a really fun hands-on exhibit for kids where they got to do and create a lot of things. I reccommend it for a fun little outing.

We found David asleep like this one night.
He was turned to his favorite story: Captain Moroni.

Another day I found the boys like this reading library books.

We spent the 24th of July (Utah's state holiday) at our favorite spot: Payson Lake with some friends, the Kapps. Unfortunately we both forgot cameras. I was kicking myself because it was such a beautiful day. But you can see pictures of last year here.

We also celebrated with some fireworks at home later that night.

Swimming lessons were another big part of our summer - like the whole month of July. We took lessons this year at the new Lindon city pool. A gorgeous setting and only 5 minutes away from our house made it perfect. Also perfect, I got to sit and enjoy the ambiance by myself for the first time ever while the kids swam.

And the kids learned a lot! They loved it so much (and so did I) that for the first time ever we also signed-up for a second round.

Catherine learning to dive.

David really loved his class and made a lot of progress. Now our biggest worry is that he's TOO comfortable in the water. Every day he'd run towards the pool yelling, "Cannon in the hole!" - a combination of "Cannon ball!" and "Fire in the hole!"

View from the pool. Felt like a resort.

Happy summer 2009! Cannon in the hole!

The First Day of School at a brand new school

This year's first day of school was a bit different than in years past.
The little brother in pajamas saying goodbye is pretty typical.

So were cute looking girls.
Catherine is starting 5th Grade and Emma is starting 3rd.

The big difference is this year we are starting at a brand new school by the house we are moving to in American Fork. It's not an easy thing to go to a new school (as any Smart relative can bravely attest) but we have been so proud of the good attitude of both girls as they start this new adventure.
We have a tradition of Dad walking the girls to school on the first day, but since they would have had to start walking in the wee hours of the morning, we opted to drive this year.
A week after the girls started school, Spencer started Kindergarten!! I can't believe our boy is so big. The day before school started I took him to the school for a private 'assessment' with his new teacher. It was hilarious. In many aspects he did better than I ever thought he would. Counted to 100 all by himself - except he proudly said "1,000!" at the end instead of 100. :) The teacher also asked him about letters and sounds (out of chronological order). He did well, but I heard him get stumped on recognizing one and wondered which one it was. Turns out it was 'A'. Guess we need a little more review. :)
Until we move, we will be commuting for another week or so. Which means a 40 min round trip each trip to the school. Which is now three trips a day since Kindergarten started. Good thing it is a pretty drive. The view from the school is gorgeous. I will grab a photo next time I go.

Moving update: we thought we were closing this Thursday, but that has been pushed back. We don't have a specific date yet because of all the new lending laws that have gone into effect in the past month giving us lots more hoops to jump through. Other than the commute to school, we're feeling patient. We love our current neighbors will miss them a lot when we move. However we're excited about our new house and neighborhood and living only 3 blocks away [walking distance!] from school.

It turns out our son is a leprechaun

Mr. Smart goes to Washington. . . and takes his family

During our trip to Maryland we decided to take the kids on a day trip to Washington DC. And of course the day we planned to do it was by far the most hot and humid of our visit. Oh well. I think that's part of the aura of the National Mall in August. Sweaty tourists. Glad we could blend in.
Me trying to take a self-portrait in front of the Supreme Court building across the street. No major protests while we were there. In fact Congress had gone home, so a lot of Washington was on vacation.
I purposely asked a guy carrying a nice camera to take a family picture in front of the Capitol building with our camera, figuring he'd do a good job. This is take #1.

Here's take#2.

By then our kids were getting restless in the heat, so we settled for this.

Then it was off to the free, air-conditioned fun of the Smithsonian Museums. The girls and I went one direction to the National Gallery while the boys headed across the Mall to the Air and Space Museum.

Mom in front of her favorites: the Van Gogh's.

The girls were great as we ran fast past a lot of famous art. I took them to the NG for the first time when they were 4 and almost 2. Then we went again two years ago. Each time I always love how much they enjoy it and their raw reactions to great art. Except now it is more familiar to them and they had favorites they were looking for. They are going to be quite the art officianados.
Can I just say how much I love the National Gallery? Not just because it's free either.

Then we met up with the boys and headed to:

The Natural History Museum!

Emma really liked the minerals and gems. Especially the Rubies - her birthstone.

By then most of the kids were museumed-out, so Michael dropped Catherine and I off to run through the American History museum for half an hour while they drove around the Mall in the air-conditioned car, eating sandwiches.

Our last stop was the World War 2 memorial. By this time Cath was done, no parking spaces to be found and so it was my turn to drive some rounds of DC [we waved to Sasha and Malia a couple of times as we drove past the White House] while Michael took the boys. This memorial is so gorgeous. We both had grandfathers who served in that war and we always feel grateful for them when we visit. And fortunately for Spencer, there was nice cool water.

And then, we went home before we officially melted.